


The Secret of the Mill

by aquila_black, Black_Zora



Series: Auf Rabenflügeln [7]
Category: Krabat | The Satanic Mill - Otfried Preußler
Genre: Change of Seasons, Cycles and Circles, Dark Magic, Difficult Decisions, Education, Enemies to Friends, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Human Sacrifice, M/M, Master-Student Bond, coming to terms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 08:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14040150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquila_black/pseuds/aquila_black, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_Zora/pseuds/Black_Zora
Summary: To save the Kantorka's life, Krabat agrees to become the Master's successor. He must learn for three years before he will be ready to take over the mill. The Master is uncharacteristically friendly with him, but his former friends among the journeymen regard him with suspicion. Lyschko has lost the Master's favor, and slinks around the mill like a whipped dog. At least Juro is still Krabat's friend. Or is he? The wheel continues to turn, and Krabat cannot stop it. When the year ends, he will again have to choose one …





	1. A New Circle Begins

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Das Geheimnis der Mühle](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8161306) by [Black_Zora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_Zora/pseuds/Black_Zora). 



> Black_Zora helped me proofread and correct my translation. As with the previous one, any remaining errors are mine.
> 
> The original author's note is as follows:
> 
> All rights pertaining to the 1971 adaptation of Krabat belong to Otfried Preußler and his descendants. This fanfic is based on the book, but the imagery, and in particular some of the characterizations, were influenced by the film.
> 
> This story is the continuation of Everything Has A Price. It's advisable to read that story first, but not strictly necessary to understand this one.

.

 

Merten was dead and buried, and Krabat had started his first year as the Master's protegé at the mill in the Koselbruch.

It was the night before Twelfth Night, or High New Year's, as the Master called it. Through the power of dreams, Krabat had helped the Master summon a new apprentice. The newcomer was a skinny, filthy little fellow of twelve or thirteen. He had unkempt, blond hair that reached his shoulders and apprehensive eyes. His name was Stani. 

Krabat was with them in the Black Chamber as the boy shook the Master's hand, unaware that he was pledging his life to him. He did not say a word to warn Stani. 

The next day, they released Lobosch from his apprenticeship. Hanzo and Kito vouched for him. 

Another change was that, at the behest of the Master, Witko had almost entirely given up working in the mill. Instead, he turned his hand to assisting Juro in the kitchen, and helping him with many chores in the house and yard. Apparently in two years, which in this case counted for four, even the Master had to recognize that Witko was not cut out for hard labor in the grinding room and the granary. On new moon nights, though, Witko still had to toil with the rest. There was no help for that. 

On most days, Krabat worked side by side with the other guys in the mill, and on Fridays he attended their lessons in the Black Arts. Additionally, the Master would often call him to further instruct him in sorcery. They spent whole evenings in the Black Chamber or the Master's living room. The Master had also announced to Krabat that, henceforth, he wanted Krabat to accompany him on some of his travels, to Dresden and other places.

On the first new moon night of the year, the Goodman appeared at the mill, as always. Krabat was half afraid that their dreadful guest would speak to him again, but the only difference was that he felt the Goodman's burning gaze linger on him more often than usual. Once the last heavy sack was loaded up, the Goodman cracked his whip and the cart sped away, across their yard and through the gate. Krabat felt immensely relieved. 

Gradually, Krabat thought he was getting an idea of how Lyschko must feel, avoided by everyone. His fellow men didn't trust him anymore. He met with many a bitter glance, and while some were surreptitious, others were undisguised. Even Lobosch was becoming wary around him. This offended Krabat, and he responded by withdrawing from the others.

Krabat tried to explain himself to Hanzo, whose word would carry the most weight with the other men. He spoke with the senior journeyman at the end of the day on Twelfth Night. In most cases, Hanzo was the last to finish work in the grinding room, where he double-checked if the grinding mechanism was in reasonable condition and ready for the next day's work. Krabat remained there with him. 

“Hanzo,” said Krabat, “I'd like a word.”

Hanzo turned and looked at him expectantly. As before, his face showed vigilance and quiet mistrust.

“I know,” Krabat continued in a hurry, “that you resent my pact with the Master. But I don't want bad blood between us. I didn't do it to save my hide, rather to prevent the death of the girl I loved. The Master found out her name. You know where that leads … but I'm not your enemy. Please explain this to the others. I never strove to ally myself with the Master. But what's done is done, and now I'm going to try to make the best of it.” 

“What's done is done,” agreed Hanzo. “And the Master may have good reason to offer you this. It's not my place to question his decisions. But, Krabat,” he looked him over sharply, “you've been at the mill only three years. Quite a few of us have been here longer. And several, I think, would also have what it takes to become the Master's successor.” 

'Ah,' thought Krabat, 'now I'm seeing the shape of it … Hanzo wanted to be the master himself. And no wonder: he's one of the best students in the black school, he's been here twelve years, and for the past two, he's also been the senior journeyman …'

“Hanzo …” Krabat started to say, in a conciliatory tone.

“Let it be, Krabat,” interrupted the senior journeyman. “You've said it yourself: what's done, is done, and now we all have to adapt. I'll tell the other guys what you've told me. But … you can't expect me, or anyone else, to like it.”

With this, he turned and left Krabat alone in the grinding room.

.

Apart from Krabat's efforts to reconcile with the other journeymen, Juro may have also spoken up for him. However, they'd all had a low opinion of Juro for so long that his word carried little weight. Although he'd stopped playing dumb after the Master unmasked him, the others still weren't used to the change. Over the years, he'd accustomed them so thoroughly to his idiocy that now they were amazed when he said something reasonable. Juro would have to develop a new standing among the mill workers, before the others would consider listening to him.

Speaking of Juro … the only ones who met Krabat's gaze without judging him were Juro and Lyschko. Both of them knew what it was like to be despised by the others, albeit for quite different reasons: Juro, because all but Krabat and the Master had long believed him to be dreadfully stupid, and Lyschko, because for many years he'd been the Master's favorite and his informant. 

After some time, Juro and Krabat started to meet in the kitchen again on some evenings, though without the wards or the secrecy. They both knew, now, that within the mill the Master could see right through protective spells. 

The Master was, naturally, aware that Krabat was associating with Juro again, but he didn't say or do anything to prevent this. Krabat therefore assumed that, while he might not approve of their meeting, he was at least tolerating it. 

“I'm sorry, Juro,” Krabat said one evening, “that I made such a mess of things last year. But now I am bound by my word to the Master and the mill, and I have to try to make the best of it.” 

“I understand, Krabat,” replied Juro. “I'm glad you're still alive, even if you didn't manage to get us out of here. And at least you'll be the new master when the old one leaves. That's a better prospect than many. Just imagine if he had chosen Lyschko as his successor …” 

Krabat looked searchingly at his friend. “Will you try to fight me, when I am the master?”

Juro was silent for a while. Then he said, “that remains to be seen. I don't know yet what sort of master you will be: better or worse.”

“But I will also have to choose one each year, Juro.”

“I know, Krabat. I know …”

.

Then there was Lyschko. He … had changed significantly after realizing that the Master and Krabat had intended to kill him on New Year's Eve, and only Merten's self-sacrifice prevented his death. Lyschko had become quiet and dispirited. His inappropriate, brazen comments about the other journeymen had ceased. He no longer brought the Master his damning observations. One thing that hadn't changed was that he kept to himself. Only Juro sometimes sat down next to him, and treated him more or less the way he would treat anyone else. Hardly a word passed between them, but it still seemed to Krabat that Lyschko was grateful to Juro. 

In contrast, the other journeymen were harsher to Lyschko than usual, when they weren't avoiding him altogether. The words they threw at him, lately, were worse than anything Krabat had hitherto known them to use. Andrusch, with his sharp tongue, was the undisputed leader. But it seemed as if he could be sure of the support of the others in everything he said and did to Lyschko. Even Hanzo only intervened infrequently, and it was obvious that he was not doing so for Lyschko's sake, but merely because he felt he had a duty. 

One midday's lunch, near the end of January, after freeing the millrace and the wheel from ice in the bitter cold, they sat around the table in the servant's quarters and reached for the stew that Juro had prepared for them.

Krabat ate with Hanzo, Andrusch, and Lyschko from the same dish. On this occasion, Hanzo had assigned Lyschko the unenviable task of climbing under the mill wheel. Now Lyschko tucked hungrily into the thick porridge of lentils, carrots, and parsnips. Krabat noticed that Andrusch was regarding him with an unholy gleam in his eyes. 

“Lyschko …” started Andrusch, in a seemingly innocuous tone.

Lyschko was not fooled, and watched him with immediate suspicion.

“No doubt about it: you're always hungry,” Andrusch continued, “ever since the Master stopped letting you lick crumbs from his table …” 

Lyschko's eyes narrowed. He made an offensive gesture in Andrusch's direction, before turning morosely back to his stew. 

But Andrusch was not finished yet. “How does it feel, my dear Lyschko, to have to shift for yourself at the mill, without the Master's protection and his hand patting your head?”

Lyschko let his spoon fall next to the dish with a clatter. He was halfway to his feet, when, all of a sudden, the Master stood in the doorway. At the very least, he must have heard what Andrusch just said.

Everyone went still. 

But the Master did not comment on the beginning of the quarrel that his entrance had interrupted, and he did not rebuke Andrusch for his poisonous words. 

“Juro,” said the Master, “come see me when you're finished in the kitchen. I want to send two of the men to Hoyerswerda this week, so that they can get the household things we're out of that can't be purchased in Wittichenau. You'll help me make the list.”

Juro nodded. “We need a barrel of salt, in any case. I can tell you that much already. Also, linen hand towels for the kitchen. And a new stock pot, because the old one definitively broke apart two days ago – and can no longer be mended with sorcery.” 

“Good,” replied the Master. “I'll write it down. In this case, at least one of those going to Hoyerswerda must know how to read. Kito, how about you?”

“Gladly, Master.” At the prospect of a whole day away from the mill and a trip to Hoyerswerda, even Kito's normally somber face brightened considerably. 

“Who else should we take?” The Master regarded them one by one. Lyschko looked at him hopefully, but the Miller's eyes moved on. “Petar, do you want to go with him?”

Petar nodded eagerly. “I'd be happy to.”

“That's settled, then. The day after tomorrow, you two will harness the brown horses and drive to Hoyerswerda.” 

The Master turned on his heel and left the room. 

The thought of Hoyerswerda had clearly lifted their spirits, even for those who weren't going. The guys badgered Kito and Petar with requests for things they wanted from the market town. The Master always provided them with a little spending money for this purpose. Only Lyschko kept his sour expression and did not take part in the conversation. 

Krabat wondered if the two would get Lyschko something from Hoyerswerda, if Lyschko were to ask. Kito certainly wouldn't. Petar might. He was good-natured, and rarely held grudges. At Krabat's request, he'd already promised to bring Krabat a new neckerchief. 

But … where Lyschko was concerned … 

Again, Krabat looked over at Lyschko. Suddenly, he couldn't blame him for his bad mood.

.

Lyschko was deliberately avoiding being alone with Krabat, and he would not meet his eyes. When Krabat spoke to him, Lyschko would look to one side and reply slowly, as if he had to choose his words with great care. He approached Krabat like a whipped dog, as he had on the day before New Year's, when Lyschko had crumpled at his feet and cried. Krabat remained torn between compassion and revulsion. Nevertheless, Lyschko answered him more frankly than the other men did – with the exception of Juro – and he did not seem to blame Krabat for his pact with the Master. 

“Lyschko,” Krabat asked him once, “do you really think that I want to harm you?”

At that, Lyschko laughed, softly and bitterly. “Juro,” he replied, “is already your friend again. What am I supposed to think, when I picture the end of the year?”


	2. The Eyes Everywhere

.

At Candlemas, after dinner, the Master called Krabat once again to his living room. Unlike at Friday lessons, Krabat did not take the shape of a raven for these additional hours. He usually had to stand, while his teacher sat in the armchair. This evening, however, the Master offered him wine and a stool. They'd half emptied their cups before he started the lesson. 

“Today,” the Master said, “I will teach you how to have eyes everywhere and be ever-present, among the journeymen. So, listen carefully and do what I tell you! Close your eyes, go into yourself and then out … but not from your body, make certain of this! Just a small part of you should go out, so that your body still obeys you and you're aware of what's going on around it. Anything else would be too dangerous at the mill. Here, you're not just surrounded by friends, and your enemies are also capable of sorcery. Do this, and then tell me what you can see and hear of the journeymen.”

Krabat obediently closed his eyes. He went deep inside himself, into his breath and heartbeat. The Master had taught them this, as a preliminary step for shape-shifting and many other difficult spells. Then he went out again, expanding his awareness until it reached as far as possible without leaving his body. 

Below, in the servant's quarters, he could hear the other journeymen. Or at least, some of them. Andrusch and Staschko were laughing, Lyschko groused in an affronted voice, and then Hanzo's voice rang out, calling all to order. 

Krabat extended his senses to their utmost, and suddenly he could see into the servant's quarters. Andrusch, Staschko, Hanzo, Kito, and Kubo were sitting around the long table in a semicircle. Lyschko sat at the far end, with a stein of beer in front of him and an expression of the deepest disgust on his face. 

Juro emerged from the kitchen with a stein in his hand, walked over to Lyschko, and replaced the one with the other. He said something, and as Krabat stretched again for all he was worth, to the tips of his toes, he could understand the words.

“… not nice of you, Andrusch. And it's also a wretched waste.” 

Krabat peered into the stein of beer that Juro had taken away from Lyschko, and saw a decomposing mouse floating in it. 

Lyschko didn't say anything, not even to Juro. He pushed his chair back and left the room with the fresh stein in hand. Krabat followed him as he walked through the dark hallway, into the cold, and leaned against the front wall of the house, where he downed his beer in a few swallows.

Krabat was close enough to touch Lyschko with an outstretched hand. But Krabat didn't have a body here, not even the insubstantial shape of a ghost. He had not truly gone out of himself. He had only … stretched. 

Nevertheless, he bent down towards Lyschko, so close that he could have counted his eyelashes. Lyschko frowned and looked around warily, as if he'd sensed something. 

“Krabat,” came the Master's voice, quiet and forceful. “Tell me what you've seen and heard.”

With his eyes still closed, Krabat recounted what he'd observed. At the same time, he watched Lyschko and the mill yard.

“Well done. Try to go farther, but still without leaving your body. Witko should be in the stable looking after the animals. See if you can find him.”

After Krabat grasped how it was done, it wasn't difficult. He reached the stable without consciously having to make his way there. He found Lobosch, as well as Witko, by the horses and oxen. They both sat together on the edge of a chest where the horses' oats were stored, with a blanket wrapped around their shoulders. A lantern stood in front of them. Within it, a lit candle burned. 

“I don't know what to do …” said Lobosch. “Staschko …”

Krabat knew at once that he did not want to be anywhere near this conversation – and he was even more reluctant to tell the Master about it.

“Let it be, Krabat,” said the Master. “I know already. Instead, try to find Stani. And we also haven't seen Petar yet.”

Petar was using the outhouse, so Krabat withdrew in a hurry, with the Master's laughter in his ears. 

He found Stani in the attic. Lyschko was there with him. 

“Lyschko,” said Stani, somewhat diffidently, “something is going on, here at the mill. You keep secrets from me.”

Lyschko didn't look at the boy as he replied. “There are things you do not want to know about, before that's unavoidable. Now, leave me in peace.”

Lyschko went to his bunk, which lay between Andrusch's and Juro's. That was an unfortunate coincidence, since Andrusch and Lyschko were constantly antagonizing each other, but no one at the mill dared to change sleeping places. For all they knew, the Goodman could find such an arrangement confusing, and take the wrong one … 

Besides, no one willingly slept near Lyschko, who had horrible dreams – some of them surely sent by one of the other journeymen. More than once, they'd relegated Lyschko to the stable so that his nightmares would not keep them awake, and had done so with little enough kindness. 

“So,” said the Master, “now we've seen everyone. Now we want to find out something else. Tell me: what is Lyschko thinking?” 

In the meantime, Lyschko had undressed and put on his nightclothes. The attic was bitterly cold, so he hurried to slip under the blanket. He also laid his jacket over it. Then he mustered his powers to work a spell that would keep him at least somewhat warm for the night. 

Krabat leaned down again very close to Lyschko, and then, with a deep breath, filtered into him. 

'To the Devil with Andrusch!' Thought Lyschko. 'A mouse! I'll slip something into his beer tomorrow, that will make him spend all day running to the shithouse! Powdered elder bark, or spindle berries, or …' Lyschko's thoughts came to a standstill. 

'There's someone here! The Master? No, he's more cunning. Then one of that pack of swine! Is the gracious Staschko sending me black dreams again? Damn it, enough is enough!' 

Lyschko was already halfway out of bed, when the Master's voice rang out. “Lyschko!”

It was obvious that Lyschko had also heard him. He stilled, mid-motion. His lips formed a word, although no sound crossed them. “Master?” he asked hesitantly. He did not seem surprised.

“Leave that nonsense, Lyschko, and join us in my room! I'm teaching Krabat something, and you will be of use to us.”

The blood drained from Lyschko's face. “Yes, Master,” he replied, audibly this time. By now he was already out of bed and on his way to the attic door, in his nightshirt and wooden clogs, with his jacket in one hand.

“You can open your eyes again, Krabat,” said the Master.

Krabat blinked in the candlelight. In the same instant, his consciousness was completely in his body once more.

A little later, there was a knock on the door. Lyschko entered. He'd put his jacket on over his nightshirt, which scarcely reached his bare knees. The Master's living room was also cold, and Krabat knew that it took either sleep or strong, determined intent to keep warm with the help of the black arts. Lyschko did not seem capable of doing this. He was too scared. Although he tried to conceal it, waves of emotion flowed out of him. 

Krabat stared. In fact, he could see the fear emanating from Lyschko. It was a thick, gray fog.

Krabat exchanged a look with the Master, who nodded at him with a smile that looked almost mischievous.

“Come, Lyschko,” said the Master, pulling the stool away from the table and into the middle of the room. “Sit down here.”

Lyschko obeyed, but with unmistakable discomfort. This time, Krabat really pitied him. 

“Krabat, stand here behind Lyschko and put your hands on his shoulders.”

Krabat could tell that Lyschko didn't want to be touched by him. He stood up, went over, and did it anyway. 

“Lyschko,” said the Master, “I want you to go out of yourself and entrust Krabat with your body.”

Lyschko's shoulders stiffened under Krabat's hands. His resistance was obvious, as was his growing fear. 

The Master walked over to Lyschko and leaned down. He touched him on the right cheek. “Remember that you are a student!” It was more of a caress than a slap, but nonetheless, delivered with emphasis. Then the left: “remember that I am the Master!” 

Lyschko let himself fall, with a tormented little sound, against the chair. Then he straightened under Krabat's hands so that he was bolt upright, shoulder muscles hard as wood. He was breathing fast. The Master laid a hand on the crown of his head. Lyschko stilled. Krabat could feel it as Lyschko took a deep breath – and then let it out, before his body relaxed. Lyschko had gone out of himself. 

“Now it's your turn, Krabat,” said the Master. “Go out of yourself and into Lyschko's body. And Lyschko, stay where I can see you.”

Krabat would have very much liked to know how the Master could see Lyschko, when the latter was not only invisible, but disembodied, and the Master was entirely visible. This, he had not yet learned. 

Then Krabat closed his eyes, went out of himself and into Lyschko's body. He had never done such a thing – and as far as he could tell, neither had Lyschko – and he wasn't really comfortable with it, especially because it was against Lyschko's will. 

Initially, he hadn't known how to go about it, but then he saw his hands on Lyschko's shoulders. They were like a bridge to enter his temporary vessel. Before Krabat knew it, he had taken possession of Lyschko's body. He was surprised to realize that it obeyed him immediately, as if it were his own.

“Now, Krabat,” said the Master, just as the sound of voices and benches being pushed back were heard from below, and the first steps came down the hall, “go to the attic with the others as Lyschko. Let's see how well you play the part.”


	3. Andrusch's Ire

.

Krabat did not like the Master's plan at all. Nevertheless, he obeyed. He opened the door in Lyschko's body and stepped out into the corridor, which the other journeymen were tramping across on their way to the attic. 

He looked over at Andrusch and Kito. Andrusch paused and studied Krabat – or Lyschko, as he thought – from head to toe. He grinned, and elbowed Kito in the ribs. Kito started laughing. Staschko and Hanzo, who'd been in front of them, turned to stare at Krabat-Lyschko. So did Kubo and Petar, who by now had also joined them in the hall. 

Their reactions made Krabat very aware that under his jacket he was only wearing a nightshirt – and he'd just come out of the Master's room like this. 

Did the others know about the Master and Lyschko? Krabat had never heard them talk about it, or possibly he hadn't understood certain allusions. But the way they were looking at him, some with amusement, others with mockery and contempt, and were tittering and laughing at him, suggested they at least had some idea. 

Or were they sneering at him – at Lyschko – because they thought he'd crawled back to the Master to benefit from being at his side?

No matter where things stood, it was not at all pleasant to be laughed at in such an unfriendly way. 

“Silence!” The Master's voice sounded as clearly as if he were standing among them. 

The laughter and snickering ceased abruptly. The men turned away from Krabat-Lyschko and continued on their way to the attic. Krabat had no alternative other than to follow them, but he did so with a sense of foreboding. 

As soon as they reached the attic, it began again. Witko, Lobosch, and Stani, the three youngest, were huddled together on Lobosch's bunk. They looked curiously at their fellow journeymen, who'd entered in something of an uproar. The only one who wasn't there was Juro.

“Lyschko!” Cried Andrusch, “Oh, my dear brother, tell us: what were you doing in the Master's room?” 

“Leave me alone!” Snapped Krabat, trying to get past Andrusch to Lyschko's bunk. If he lay down and went to sleep as quickly as possible, they would hopefully stop badgering him. And then the Master might allow him to return to his body. 

But Andrusch blocked his way. “Start talking,” he said. “Or do you want more bad dreams?”

“He gets those no matter what,” Hanzo interrupted. “As would anyone in his place …”

Krabat could not tell if this was an attempt to prevent a fight, or whether the senior journeyman was also making fun of him – of Lyschko. 

Again, he tried to push past Andrusch. This time Andrusch responded by grabbing his arm. 

Krabat had had enough. He shoved his fellow journeyman, hard enough to make him stagger. But Andrusch did not let go. With an angry grunt, he twisted Krabat's arm, and Krabat could only lessen the pain by moving closer to Andrusch. 

“Don't believe that what you do with the Master will save you!” spat Andrusch in his face. “It's your turn, this year! If the Master and Krabat don't take care of that, we will! Got it?” He gave Krabat's arm a painful wrench. 

The hatred in Andrusch's voice scared Krabat. He'd never heard his fellow journeyman use this tone. Andrusch's pranks and tricks were often crude, but they weren't vicious, and he was well-regarded by everyone except Lyschko – even by Juro, who had formerly been the one he made constant fun of. 

Krabat shot a pleading look at Hanzo. Everyone had heard what Andrusch just said, and it was the duty of the senior journeyman to intercede. But Hanzo was looking at him so grimly that Krabat felt cold all over. 

He sought out the eyes of the others. They regarded him with nothing but contempt and rejection, and in several cases, hate. The only exception was Stani, who was distraught, and watching without understanding what had come over the rest of the mill hands. He may have noticed that Lyschko was not popular, but that the others disapproved of him vehemently enough to want him dead, and threaten him like this, was obviously a shock. 

“Everything has a price, Lyschko,” said Hanzo, finally. “You know it as well as anyone here.” He seemed reluctant to speak, and did so only in response to apprehensive looks from the others, who expected him to comment as senior journeyman. “For years, you had it better than everyone else at the mill, because you couldn't care less what happened to us. You made a beautiful life at our expense. But this year, you're going to pay for that.” 

As there was apparently nothing else to say, Andrusch finally let go of Krabat, though not without giving him one final, painful shove in passing. 

Krabat went over to Lyschko's bunk. He looked neither right nor left, and laid down without taking off his jacket, rolling onto his side to face away from Andrusch. 

He was deeply shaken. 

“Tonda,” he thought, “would never have tolerated something like this, not even against Lyschko. And Michal also would have put a stop to it – and he wasn't even the senior journeyman.”

How would Lyschko survive this year, when he'd lost the Master's protection and the others met him with such hostility? Were his fellow men really so fed up with him that they were considering killing him? Or did they just want to scare the devil out of him so that he wouldn't dare tell the Master of their transgressions anymore?

Suddenly, Krabat was afraid. He was laying here as Lyschko, surrounded by nine men, eight of whom knew sorcery. And from the look of it, at least some of them wanted Lyschko dead. 

He heard several of the journeymen whispering among themselves, including Andrusch and Staschko. 

Then the lanterns went out. 

Krabat could feel his heartbeat in his throat. 

Surely they were just trying to scare him … right?

He prepared to defend himself. 

Then a thought struck him. He could simply cast off Lyschko's body and be safe. Nothing could happen to him if he was disembodied! 

But if he did that, and the others mortally wounded this body, then Lyschko would have none to return to. He would be eternally trapped as a spirit between worlds, with no hope of making himself known to anyone: in complete solitude. 

It was worse than death. Lyschko didn't deserve that. 

Footsteps rustled on either side of Krabat. He mustered all his strength, committing to fight back physically and with the aid of sorcery. 

Something flashed in the darkness. A knife? 

Krabat raised his hands. 

Suddenly, the attic door flew open with an almighty crash. It was bright as day. 

The Master stood in the room. He wasn't wearing his eye-patch, and the baleful stare of both his eyes was directed at Andrusch, who was standing not two feet away from Krabat. The knife, if there had really been one, was nowhere to be seen. Then the Master turned. Following his gaze, Krabat realized that Staschko was flanking Lyschko's bunk from the other side. He also appeared empty handed. 

“Well, well …” said the Master, in a voice that mocked them. “The honorable journeymen must be reminded of the mill rules! But don't worry: I'll come up with something to help get you back up to scratch.” 

Then he turned to Krabat. “Lyschko, get your bedding and your other things and come with me. You'll sleep in Krabat's room from now on. Otherwise, something could happen that we would all regret.”

With his own hands, the Master helped him carry Lyschko's few possessions downstairs and take them to Krabat's room. Then, just as casually, he pushed open the door that led from Krabat's room to his own. At his nod, Krabat followed him, and came face to face with his own body, still standing behind the stool where Lyschko had sat. 

“Sit down,” said the Master. “Return to your body, and Lyschko, you return to yours as soon as Krabat has left it.”

Krabat obeyed him. Once back inside his body, he shook himself, as if to shake off being Lyschko – and what he'd just endured from the journeymen. Shortly thereafter, Lyschko also shuddered as he returned to his body. 

“From now on,” the Master said to Lyschko, “you will sleep in Krabat's room. You know how the other guys get, around you, better than anyone. Even with Krabat, this would have gone very badly if I had not stepped in.”

The Master looked sharply at Lyschko. “Be careful, Lyschko! Above all, with Andrusch and Hanzo, but also with Staschko and Kito. Don't give them any more reasons to hurt you. And you –” he turned towards Krabat, “keep an eye out for Lyschko. I can't be everywhere. Be vigilant, both of you, particularly when I'm not at the mill. And now,” a thin smile played over the Master's lips. 

“Shoo, to bed.”

.

Lyschko did not seem especially surprised that the Master had put him in Krabat's room. Rather, he seemed relieved. There was little love lost between him and Krabat, but in the last few weeks, he was one of the few who had treated Lyschko even halfway decently. And Krabat was in the Master's favor, which meant that proximity to him granted some protection. 

Even if Lyschko still believed that Krabat and the Master meant to use him as this year's sacrifice, he had nothing to fear from them until the last day of the year. With the other journeymen, it was entirely another story. 

Krabat had slept in a room by himself since New Year's Eve, and the other journeymen no longer took him into their confidence. So he'd really had no idea what these last few weeks had been like for Lyschko. But as he watched Lyschko straighten the straw-stuffed sack on the ground, arrange his blanket on it, take off his jacket, and go to the washbasin to splash ice-cold water on his face, his fellow journeyman seemed like someone who had recently had a heavy weight lifted off their shoulders. 

“I won't bother you,” said Lyschko, with his back to Krabat. “And if I have bad dreams again, you can use a spell to make me still and silent. I won't hold it against you.”

“Alright,” replied Krabat. “Blow out the candle when you're done.”

Lyschko extinguished the flame. The room was dark. Only a dim shimmer of moonlight filtered in through the small window, reflecting off the snow. 

Krabat heard Lyschko slip under the covers. 

“Good night, Krabat.”

“Good night, Lyschko.”


	4. A Dirty Business

.

The next morning at breakfast, the Master announced that their outhouse had to be moved, and split the work between Hanzo, Andrusch, and Staschko. 

“You can ask Juro,” he added, with malice in his voice, “if he has some old rags lying around that you can wear. You may have to go down into the pit.”

Hanzo, Andrusch, and Staschko spent the whole day filling in the old latrine pit and digging and reinforcing the new one, as well as moving the structure of the outhouse. Right near the beginning, Andrusch inexplicably slipped and fell headlong into the stinking mess, just as the Master passed the three. If Hanzo and Staschko hadn't quickly pulled him out – and in so doing they both ended up filthy from head to toe – Andrusch would have been in serious trouble. 

By evening, the three stank to high heaven, and looked like they had rolled in manure. After they buried their reeking work clothes, which, in any case, had only consisted of rags, in the dunghill, Juro threw soap and some more rags out the door to them, so they could clean up. They washed themselves for almost half an hour, in ice cold water they'd had to haul in buckets from the well to near the dunghill. The Miller didn't allow them to wash anywhere else. All three were blue from the cold and shaking all over, before the Master finally allowed them to come into the house and put their usual clothes back on. 

Now they struggled into the servant's quarters, tired and beaten, where the others were sitting at the table. Juro and Witko had already served dinner. Staschko looked close to tears, and even brawny Hanzo was unsteady on his feet from exhaustion. 

The Master regarded them without remorse. “Let that,” he remarked coldly, “serve as a lesson. You apparently didn't understand what I told someone who has been forgotten, and wished to hang himself! But now, you will remember it.” 

Then he looked at Hanzo. “Your brothers chose you as senior journeyman two years ago, Hanzo, but I will admit I had my doubts from the beginning. The last two years you've done your job well. However, you've started this one off badly. I am not satisfied with your work. You will have to do an exceptional job in the future, if you want to keep being senior journeyman.” 

With that, he turned to Staschko. “There are pranks that are funny, and then there are pranks in such bad taste that they taint everything else with bitterness. You built us a fine, new mill wheel two years ago, Staschko, and I still hold you in high regard for that. But don't push it. I could bring other men to the mill who know a thing or two about wood.” 

Next, it was Andrusch's turn. “You,” the Master said, severely, “are a lazy and stupid dog. I am sick of your nonsense. From now on, you will stick to the letter of the rules – and stop badgering Lyschko, you hear?!” 

At last, the Master dismissed the three. “Now sit and eat, and then go up to sleep. And don't you dare get sick on me!”

. 

Easter came, and little Stani bowed under the yoke of the brotherhood, like all the journeymen before him. 

Work on the mill went on as always. The first fruit trees bloomed.

Krabat and Lyschko were getting along adequately. Since he slept in Krabat’s room, Lyschko had stopped being plagued by bad dreams. They didn't have much to say to each other, and in the mornings they'd set about the work Hanzo assigned them; sometimes together, sometimes apart. At the table, Lyschko sat between Krabat and Juro. When the Master called Krabat to his room in the evenings, to give him further lessons in the dark arts, Lyschko would generally retreat to Krabat's room to avoid the other journeymen. 

A week after Easter, the Master went with Krabat to Dresden, and this time he introduced him to the Prince Elector. They spent three days as guests at his court, and Krabat was dazzled by all the pomp and ceremony. One evening was dedicated to music and dancing, with many women in powdered wigs and painted faces. Under the wigs and the sumptuous layers of rustling fabric, however, they smelled sour and had lice. Krabat discovered this, to his chagrin, after having been tempted to follow one to a room where she did confusing things with him, which he only half understood with his wine-addled mind. 

The Master laughed at him when he saw him shifting uncomfortably against the coach seat the next morning, as they drove through thin air, and he solved the problem with a spell and a casual nod. 

“Maybe, Krabat,” he remarked, with a shuttered smile, “I should teach you about women, and all those other things. Or –” he laughed, “you could ask Lyschko.”

Krabat's cheeks burned. 

He hesitated, but then said, “may I ask you something, Master?”

“Go ahead,” the Master replied affably.

“What is Lyschko to you, really? I haven't forgotten what you told me: that he doesn't fit in with the others and needs to be handled differently … but … that's not what I mean.”

The Master was silent for a time, and Krabat was afraid that his question had gone too far. 

But then the Master replied. “When Lyschko came to the mill, six years ago, he was fifteen or sixteen. He himself did not know exactly. That's already pretty old for an apprentice. Most start at twelve, thirteen, or fourteen. Lyschko was a thief. Not the sort that occasionally light-fingers something, but one who'd made thieving his trade. Had the authorities caught him, they would have hanged him. Up till now, I haven't explained this, Krabat, but everyone who comes to the mill was marked for death. Lyschko would have been executed, and you would have frozen in winter, had you not heeded my call.”

This thought chilled Krabat through and through, and the feeling lingered. 

“Lyschko knew,” the Master continued, “how to fend for himself. Nevertheless, he was half starved when he got to the mill. He had an evil whistling sound in his lungs. Juro nursed him back to health. Lyschko had lost his parents very young, and the mill was the first place he could call home. He was very grateful for it, and eager to please me. He craved my attention and approval. In contrast, Lyschko never thought much of his fellow journeymen. His pliant nature and his willingness to serve me entertained me for a while. I may have been too permissive with him. He never feared me the way the others do. He sought out my presence, and I allowed this – for a time.” 

The Master looked directly at Krabat. “I did not force him, Krabat. He came to me. But I also didn't refuse him. Still, as he got older, he became presumptuous. He took more than was his due. I had to show him the limits. But he did not accept that. The rest, you already know.” 

Krabat was silent for a time. Then he began, hesitantly, “Master … with Lyschko … I think it's not just that he wants to please you. It … I believe that it runs deeper with him. But …” Krabat knew he was overstepping a boundary. He spoke anyway. “But I don't know if you can understand that, Master. Love, I mean.”

The rest of the trip passed in complete silence. 

.

Krabat sits at the mill pond. It's May, shortly after Pentecost, and everything is resplendent in the light of the evening sun, in vibrant shades of green. 

The day was very warm, so after finishing their work, he and Lyschko decided to find out whether they could venture into the water yet. It was still too cold for Krabat, but Lyschko stripped and is wading in, laughing and grimacing on account of the intense cold. Now, he swims across the black water of the mill pond with smooth, even strokes. 

Krabat follows him with his eyes. 

Then Lyschko turns and swims back towards him. He smiles, and Krabat smiles back.

'Tonda was right,' Krabat thinks, 'it's really good to have a friend at the mill.'

.

Krabat awoke to Lyschko energetically calling his name and shaking his shoulder. 

“Krabat! Krabat, wake up! We're already late. We have to hurry, or the others will eat up everything.”

Still muzzy from sleep, Krabat clambered out of his bed and pulled on his clothes. He splashed a double-handful of water on his face, and then ran after Lyschko to breakfast.


	5. Snake and Fox

.

“Krabat! Lyschko!”

It was still early in the morning when the Master called them back from their work in the grinding room. They were sweaty and flour-dusted, and he looked intently at both of them. 

“Wash yourselves, and then get to the market in Wittichenau. Krabat, you will sell Lyschko as a horse. See to it that you get at least fifty guilders for him, understand? And give him to whoever offers you the most, no matter who that happens to be.” He shot Krabat a pointed look. 

Krabat, thinking of his previous experience with Juro, nodded quickly. “Yes, Master.”

A little later, Krabat and Lyschko made their way to Wittichenau. It was a cool and sunny April morning. The fruit trees and the sloe were in bloom. Birds were making a commotion in the branches. They could have taken the form of ravens and flown, but the weather was beautiful and they weren't in any particular hurry, so they decided to walk. 

Shortly before they got to Wittichenau, Krabat transformed into a strapping, young farmhand, while Lyschko became a chestnut stallion. 

Krabat always found it enlightening to see the transformations of the others. In every form, they retained something of their original appearance. Thus, the Master in animal form still had only one eye. And, anyway, their essence did not change. However, they did adopt the behavior of the animal they had become, outwardly. Krabat had discovered that things that seemed attractive to him, as a raven, could make him uncomfortable, later. Once, after eating enthusiastically from the long-dead carcass of a cat, he had thrown up violently upon turning back into a human.

Krabat put the enchanted halter on Lyschko. Lyschko regarded him with quiet mistrust and snorted, warningly. 

“I won't forget to take it off, I promise,” Krabat reassured him. 

When they got to the market, he led Lyschko around the square once, so that they could both have a look at the hustle and bustle. Then Krabat stood around with his stallion and waited for customers. He got several offers, but the highest came from an officer who proposed to pay him sixty guilders “if the horse is any good.”

Krabat was relieved to see that this man had both eyes, but something about him still made Krabat uneasy. In addition, the officer demanded a trial ride, and since they had not thought of conjuring a saddle for the horse, he had his own men bring one.

The bit attached to the bridle looked punishing. Krabat wouldn't have wanted such a thing in any horse's mouth, and much less in Lyschko's. But he had to play along, and watched with discomfort as the officer threw the saddle over Lyschko's back, cinched the belt tight, and then worked the headpiece onto him. Prior to this, Krabat had been careful to take the enchanted halter off, so that in an emergency Lyschko could change back at will.

Lyschko's bad mood was unmistakable. His ears were pinned flat as the man swung a leg over his back. The officer was a brutal rider, who yanked at Lyschko's mouth and dug the spurs into his sides, but Lyschko had little choice but to go with it. Finally, the man was satisfied, and told his underling to give Krabat the sixty guilders. Then he urged Lyschko into a gallop and they thundered away.

Krabat bought some little fried cakes at the market, to take back to Stani and Lobosch. Then he began wending his way home. A little outside of Wittichenau he turned back into himself, and sat down by the side of the road to wait for Lyschko. 

Finally, Lyschko galloped over, still wearing the officer's riding gear. His sides were dark from sweat, and the foam at his mouth was bloody. Carefully, Krabat took the saddle and bridle off him, and disposed of the unwanted things by kicking them into the bushes. 

When he turned around, Lyschko was standing there in the shape of a man again, still drenched in sweat and bleeding from the corners of his mouth. 

“That blasted slave-driver!” Lyschko swore, and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “I wouldn't wish a rider like that on the stubbornest nag!” 

He lifted his shirt and showed Krabat the marks where the spurs had dug into his flesh. “And the saddle didn't fit,” he complained, and rubbed his back. 

They rested for a while and ate some of the cakes, while Lyschko recovered enough to keep walking. They went slowly, on the one hand because Lyschko still hurt all over, and on the other because they still had the day off, in any case, and wanted to make the most of that. By the time they returned to the mill, it was late afternoon. 

The Master met them at the door. He scrutinized Lyschko, who was ruffled and exhausted, and then turned to Krabat, who handed over the money. The Master counted it. 

“Sixty guilders,” he said, with a satisfied nod. “Well done, both of you. Lyschko, come here.”

Lyschko stepped forward. He seemed tense, but the Master just laid a hand on the top of his head. A shudder went through Lyschko. Krabat watched as the tears in the corners of his mouth disappeared, and when the Master pulled up Lyschko's shirt, the spur-wounds were also gone. 

.

Krabat found Stani in the garden, where the boy was pulling weeds from the herb bed at Hanzo or Juro's behest. Stani looked surprised when Krabat handed him a cloth containing the slightly-smooshed cakes. 

“Take it,” Krabat said, as Stani hesitated. “I haven't poisoned them, and I'm not expecting anything in return. It's just that I still remember my apprenticeship, and how hard it was sometimes. That's why I felt like bringing you something.” 

Hearing this, Stani picked up one of the little cakes and took a bite. “Mmm… thanks, Krabat,” he said, around a mouthful. He chewed and swallowed, and then added, “but I'm happy at the mill, really. It's much better here than anywhere else I've been.”

The apprentice ate a second cake, and watched Krabat thoughtfully. “Krabat,” he finally said, “can I ask you something?”

Krabat nodded. “Ask away.”

“Why do the others think it's so bad that you're going to be the Master's successor?”

“Hm,” Krabat said. “Wouldn't you rather ask them?”

“Oh, I have. I've asked all of them. Lobosch and Witko and Juro; Andrusch, Staschko, and Kito; Petar and Kubo, although Kubo never says anything; and even Hanzo and Lyschko. But no one wants to talk about it.”

Krabat had to smile. At that moment, Stani was reminding him very much of himself and his own apprenticeship.

“It's like this, Stani,” he started, choosing his words carefully, “I'd been at the mill for three years, before the Master chose me as his successor. First, like you, as an apprentice, then as a journeyman. The others were my friends – all but Lyschko. Back then we could not stand each other. But then I made a mistake. I got involved with a girl, which is forbidden to us. The Master found out her name, putting her in danger. I agreed to inherit the mill from him to save her. But the others …” 

Stani interrupted him. “Your girl was in danger? What would the Master have done to her?” he asked, wide-eyed.

“I'm not allowed to tell you, Stani. But the Master,” Krabat said seriously, “is also bound by the rules, and he must uphold them. Most are not of his making. The black arts demand a high price.” 

“But … if he didn't make the rules, who did?”

“I can't tell you that, either. Not yet. You'll find out many things about the mill, the school, and the brotherhood when the time is right. Until then: have patience.”

Stani sighed. “They all tell me that. Even Kito, and he really doesn't have any!”

Krabat laughed. “You'll adapt to everything. And I hope the others will also, though some things have changed. They are angry with me because they think the fact that I allied myself with the Master means I am against them. But it's not like that.” 

Stani regarded him thoughtfully. “Krabat, I think you will make a good master. But you could stand to be a bit less mysterious.”

Krabat couldn't help it – he laughed, and Stani laughed with him.

.

Krabat caught Lobosch after dinner, before he could disappear into the kitchen with Witko and Juro.

“For you,” said Krabat, and put the cakes into his friend's hands. 

Lobosch opened the little parcel and looked at Krabat, amazed. 

“From the market in Wittichenau,” Krabat added.

“Thank you,” said Lobosch, but unlike Stani, he closed the wrapping over the cakes again. They stood in silence for a while, as Lobosch held the parcel. Then, they spoke at the same time.

“Krabat –”

“Lobosch –”

They both had to smile.

“Listen, Krabat,” Lobosch finally said. “I'm not angry with you. At least, not because of the thing with the Master. Juro told me and Witko how that happened last year. Hanzo did, too. He told everyone the story at the beginning of this year, like you asked. Hanzo didn't seem to believe you – or rather, he does, but he's bitter about the fact that now you outrank us. But Juro was there, and I trust his word. If he says you did it to save your girl, I believe that.” 

Lobosch hesitated, but then went on, “but Krabat … at the same time, I can't act like nothing has changed between us. You already left me in the lurch once, in Groß Partwitz, to follow a dream. Who knows where this one will lead you?” 

Krabat shook his head. Hearing this from his friend hurt him – even though he knew that Lobosch was mostly right. 

“You'll have to make up your own mind, Lobosch,” he replied, “even if that means we can't be close anymore. Whatever conclusions you draw, I will accept. But you should know: I'm not your enemy, and not the other journeymen's, either. I have not betrayed you, and I do not intend to in the future.”

Lobosch nodded slowly. “I'm not your enemy, either. I think Witko feels the same way. He and I are happy at the mill, even if we are afraid of the Master. So …” Lobosch cocked his head to one side and gave him a thin smile, “when you're master, Krabat, if you want us to serve you willingly, Witko and I, be a master that no one needs to fear.”

Krabat thought of everything he'd learned about the hidden laws of the mill.

“I'll try, Lobosch,” he replied gravely. “As best I can. You have my word.”

.

It's summer. They harvest the hay. 

Krabat and Lyschko rake the scythe-cut, dry grass, and Staschko and Petar throw it on the wagon. The other journeymen also rake.

It's hot, and the sky is cloudless. 

After a while, Krabat and Lyschko sit down under a tree to take a break. Witko, Lobosch, and Stani sit together near them. Kubo and Petar are somewhat farther away. Andrusch and Staschko splash around in the mill race, while Hanzo and Kito water the horses, tethered a little ways off in the shade. Everyone is waiting for Juro, who is in charge of lunch. 

Then Stani cries out in fright, “watch out, Krabat! A snake!”

Krabat looks around and sees an adder, slithering between him and Lyschko. 

“Lyschko!” He grabs his friend's arm to warn him.

But as Lyschko turns towards the snake, it's gone. In its place stands Juro, with a towel-covered basket under one arm. He's holding a cake in either hand and smiling. 

.

But it was only May when Krabat awoke from this dream, and he and Lyschko were not friends. They'd shared a room for three months. There wasn't space for a second bed, so the straw-stuffed sack Lyschko slept on lay on the floor. And even so, he seemed to rest more peacefully there than in all the years his bunk had been in the attic. 

A week after their trip to Wittichenau, the Master started calling Lyschko to him again. Mostly, he borrowed him late at night, from sleep. It sometimes happened that Lyschko didn't return until early in the morning from the Master's room, to wash up, change clothes, and go with Krabat to breakfast.

The first time it happened, Krabat had worried about Lyschko, especially because he could hear sobbing in the next room, that the Master was apparently not managing to soothe. Krabat did not understand the Master's words, only the conciliatory sound of his voice. It took a long time for Lyschko to stop crying. After that, it was very quiet for a while, and then Krabat could hear muffled sounds that he preferred not to think about. Lyschko returned to their room a little before dawn. He looked tired, but also like a tremendous burden had been lifted from him. He didn't avoid Krabat's curious look. “It's alright,” Lyschko said, and then pulled off his nightshirt and, unselfconsciously, started to wash himself. 

Since the Master had called him back, Lyschko was, once again, transformed. He wasn't quite back to his old self, but he was less depressed, though he still seemed more pensive than happy. He didn't put up with as much from the others as he had at the beginning of the year – but they were also more cautious around him, since the incident with Hanzo, Andrusch, and Staschko. 

One evening, when Krabat was with Juro in the kitchen, while in the servant's quarters, Petar, Kito, and Kubo played cards and Andrusch entertained them with his Jew's harp, Juro asked him about Lyschko. 

“Has he made trouble for you? Lyschko?”

Krabat shrugged. “We're not friends, but we get along alright.”

“Be careful, Krabat,” warned Juro, “Lyschko is a fox. And now that he's in the Master's favor again, it may well be that he's telling the Master things about you.”

“Tch,” Krabat replied, “I doubt it. And there's really nothing to tell that the Master doesn't already know.”

Juro shook his head doubtfully. “You should still be careful.”

But Krabat considered how Juro had behaved around Lyschko before the Master took him back, and how things had changed. Juro wasn't exactly unfriendly to Lyschko, but he didn't sit down with him anymore, except at mealtimes.

Krabat had to think his dream over, with the cakes and the adder. 

.

That night, Krabat woke up when Lyschko crept back in from the Master’s room. Lyschko had lit the candle, and was washing up by its meager light. He hadn’t noticed that Krabat was awake. Or, at least, that’s what Krabat had thought, until Lyschko turned and looked at him. 

“I didn’t mean to wake you, Krabat,” Lyschko said. He poured the used water out of the washbasin into a bucket, which was under the table, and pulled his nightclothes on again.

“It’s alright,” replied Krabat.

He hesitated, and then spoke up about something that had been on his mind for a while. “Lyschko,” he said, in a bit of a hush, “when you … when you go to the Master …” 

Lyschko, who had been about to blow out the candle, tilted his head to one side and looked searchingly at him.

“Would you tell me about that?” asked Krabat, and immediately felt like a complete ass.

Lyschko laughed, something Krabat had not heard him do in a long time. “I could even show you.”

Krabat shook his head in a hurry, and Lyschko laughed louder.

Next door, the Master banged on the wall, to call for quiet. Had he heard their conversation? Krabat wanted to sink through the floor.

Lyschko, suddenly all smiles, sat down next to Krabat’s bed.

“I’ll tell you,” he whispered in Krabat’s ear. His breath caressed Krabat’s cheek. “And then, you can decide for yourself what to do with it …”


	6. The Pact

.

It was the beginning of June, and Lyschko had convinced Krabat to go with him to the forest near the mill after dinner to look for wild strawberries.

As they headed out, it was still warm and bright. In the bushes near the forest, a thrush sang. Further in, a chaffinch was audible, and a ringed snake slithered away from their feet. 

They made their way for a time in companionable silence. 

“Look!” Lyschko cried abruptly, pointing to a patch beside the path, “there are some!”

They knelt in the grass and started to pick the fruit. Wild strawberries were smaller than the ones that grew in Juro’s garden at the mill, and tasted bittersweet. But, in a season where there was hardly any fruit, the guys savored them as they would the sweetest candy from the Wittichenau market. 

“There are more over there,” said Krabat, when they had harvested all they could from the first patch. 

The two of them picked fruit near the forest path until their fingers and mouths were red from it. They also found some early raspberries and wild thyme, which they decided to bring Juro for the kitchen. 

When they’d eaten enough for the moment, they collected a supply for later, storing the fruit in their neckerchiefs. 

“We could bring some for the others,” suggested Krabat. 

Lyschko hesitated. Then, he said “I’d be willing to share some with Stani and Juro. The same goes for Lobosch and Witko. But if you want any for the others, you’ll have to pick them yourself.” 

Krabat wanted to argue, but Lyschko held up a hand. “You don’t have to say it. I know very well that the other journeymen have reasons to be unkind to me. But what I did, I did for the Master. We have all sworn obedience to him, and renew the oath each Easter. How can it be wrong, then, to do as he commands? Or … wishes? Most misunderstand his intentions, and don’t know what the consequences can be, if the mill rules are broken.”

He looked at Krabat with determination. “The brotherhood must not be broken, Krabat. There must be a master at the mill, and what he says must be done. If the bond breaks, we’ll all lose our powers. And I cannot bear to live without magic again.”

“But,” Krabat replied, “you didn’t do it primarily for the sake of the brotherhood …”

“No,” Lyschko answered firmly. “For the most part, I did it for the Master.”

“Because you …”

“Because he is who he is. And now, let’s pick some strawberries for the half-pint, shall we?” 

.

Krabat is dreaming again, and this time, he is aware that he is. 

In his dream, Juro stands before him, and regards him mournfully.

“Krabat,” says Juro, “I am still your friend. But you have to choose between being my friend or Lyschko’s. And it’s also impossible to be my friend and the Master’s. No one can really be the Master’s friend. He will betray you, as he betrays us all. Lyschko in particular has experience with that. You must make up your mind, Krabat.” 

.

As Krabat awoke, he asked himself why, lately, everyone seemed to assume that he and Lyschko were friends. Simply because the Master had bade Krabat to share his room, and they were therefore seen together, from time to time. 

Then he asked himself, who among the other journeymen he could call a friend. Most of them didn’t even speak to him anymore, if they could avoid it. 

Juro?

More and more, Krabat had the feeling that the Master’s warning was justified. He was sure that Juro was again working against the Master, and trying to influence the other guys to think similarly. He even tried with Krabat. Juro seemed indifferent to the fact that Krabat was currently on good terms with the Master and didn’t want to be otherwise. Also, the fact that Krabat had lived for half a year with Lyschko without a problem, and repeatedly pointed this out to Juro, apparently made no impression. Juro persisted in warning him about Lyschko. It seemed obvious that Juro was pursuing his own agenda, and what Krabat said or thought about it didn’t especially matter to him.

On the other hand, during these months, Lyschko hadn’t given Krabat any reason to complain about him. He was an accommodating sleeping partner, and didn’t try to affect Krabat’s decision-making. Also, contrary to what Krabat had expected, he didn’t seem to be jealous of Krabat’s new position at the mill. He was reserved but friendly enough where Krabat was concerned, or at least, not hostile. In fact, it was not unpleasant to be in such close quarters with him.

‘Maybe,’ thought Krabat, ‘Lyschko is really the closest thing to a friend that I have at the mill. If he’s alright with it, I’m going to start thinking of him as my friend.’

.

That June, the new moon almost coincided with the shortest night of the year. The summer solstice was only three days later. 

Once more, they slaved away for the Goodman. But he did not supervise their work this time. Accompanying the Master, he disappeared into the Black Chamber. The flickering glow from his hat’s rooster feather filtered out through the window and fell over the courtyard. The journeymen took it for a bad omen, and kept exchanging worried looks.

After a time, the two made their way back to the wagon. The Goodman ascended first, followed by the Master. 

As the men loaded up the last of the sacks, sweat-drenched and – especially little Stani – exhausted, suddenly the voice of their grim visitor sounded. 

“Krabat,” he said, and Krabat froze. He felt ice-cold, and at the same time, something in him felt like it was burning, through and through.

Krabat raised his eyes to meet the Goodman’s, who had already been looking at him. His gaze was razor-sharp. 

Then the Goodman spoke again. “Lyschko. Come forward.”

An astonished, sharp intake of breath went through the whole company of journeymen. Lyschko, in contrast, who was standing not far from Krabat, made a sound like someone had crushed all the air out of him, before he turned and took a few, uncertain steps towards their … other master. 

The Goodman also studied him carefully. For a long time, he was silent. When he spoke again, he sounded almost amused, if that were possible. Aside from which, his voice remained as forbidding as ever. 

“Very well,” he said, with a nod. 

Then he turned the horses, and the wagon rumbled away from the yard. 

The Master gestured to Krabat and Lyschko. They exchanged a glance. Apparently Lyschko was as bewildered as Krabat, and quite a bit more frightened. 

They followed the Master to the Black Chamber, as the other journeymen walked past them to the attic, giving them many strange looks. 

“Lyschko,” said the Master, as soon as he’d closed the door behind them and felt the questions in their eyes, “is now included in the pact with the Goodman.” He put his hand on the Koraktor as he spoke. “From here forward, I will also treat him as my protégé, and in two and a half years he will lead the mill alongside you, Krabat. Provided you’re in agreement, Lyschko, and willing to shake on it.”

Lyschko stared at the Master, perplexed.

“But … why?” stammered Krabat.

The Master smiled, with quiet facetiousness. “The Goodman sees many things that we do not. I, too, have read some things in your future of which you have no inkling. Be grateful, Krabat. There’s a lot at the mill that can be better withstood by two. I never had a friend here, but if Jirko had been with me when I came to the Koselbruch, we would have run the mill and the school together.”

Then the Master turned to Lyschko. “Well, what say you, Lyschko? Do you want to?” He offered Lyschko his left hand. 

Lyschko seemed to grow noticeably. A broad smile appeared on his face. “I do.” He shook the Master's hand. 

The Master nodded, satisfied.

“Then, from now on, you will both be my protégés and in two and a half years, masters of the mill on the black water. This will mean that you have to sacrifice two of the men on New Year’s Eve, and summon two apprentices at High New Year to serve at the mill. Everything has a price … in your first year, you will have to bring three new boys, to complete the dozen, since you two will be absent from the ranks of the journeymen. On New Year’s preceding it – for the last time – you will only have to choose one. But it will all work out in the end.” 

Krabat sought out Lyschko's gaze. In his eyes, Krabat could read what he’d already felt: it could be a lot better for two to run the mill – him along with a friend.

Krabat did not want to think yet about the rest. 

"One more thing," said the Master. "For the time being, there’s no benefit to letting the others know Lyschko is part of the pact. They will not like it, especially if they realize that means two of them will soon have to die every year. Therefore: Let me determine when to tell them, and how to bring up the subject. Swear it!" 

Both gave their word.

.

While the fact that Lyschko had been brought into the pact with the Goodman changed the relationship between him and Krabat yet again, the Master did not treat them equally. It was quite evident that Krabat was his favorite student, while Lyschko was something of an afterthought. Also, his relationship with Krabat was of a rather different kind. But Krabat, in many ways, was still getting to know his teacher. 

As Krabat and Lyschko now had additional lessons in the dark arts, Krabat got to see more of how the Master and Lyschko got along when the other journeymen were not present. Frequently, the Miller would casually touch Lyschko in a way that suggested long familiarity. When he praised him, he’d stroke his hair, cheek, or arm. Then Lyschko would beam and his eyes shone. Things didn’t go any farther than this, around Krabat. 

Krabat asked himself what could have caused the breakdown. And why the Master had even been willing to sacrifice Lyschko, to win Krabat over. He knew, from Lyschko, that his unique relationship with the Master had started during his apprenticeship; only a few months after Lyschko came to the mill. What convinced the Master to drop him after six years, as if the whole thing was worthless? And then why did he take him back?

Sometimes, Krabat had the terrible suspicion that it was some sort of test for Lyschko, one that the Master had accepted would cost Lyschko his life if he failed it. Admittedly, though, that raised the question of how and why Lyschko had passed.

As a result of observing the back-and-forth between Lyschko and the Master during these hours, Krabat realized the Master was also touching him in a way that not only held praise or encouragement, but additionally, an offer. One that Krabat had not recognized before. He was not sure how he felt about it.

Aside from the intricacies of the relationship between Lyschko and the Master, of all his fellow men, Lyschko had become the most familiar to him. Krabat often did not know what Lyschko was thinking - and scrupulously avoided entering his mind with the help of sorcery - but he was accustomed to everything else about Lyschko. They had shared a room for half a year, which was different from sleeping alongside eleven guys: one came to understand the other better, when there were only two. 

In addition, the other mill hands had long since stopped treating Krabat like one of them. Shut out from their conversations and the general camaraderie, he had little choice but to interact with Lyschko. They probably had more in common with each other, now, than with the other journeymen. 

Increasingly, Krabat concluded that, if he had a friend on the mill, it was Lyschko – and Lyschko seemed to concur.


	7. A Really Stupid Prank

.

It was a hot summer's day, and the journeymen had gone to the mill pond after work to cool off a bit. Not all the boys could swim when they came to the mill, but they all learned during their first summer there. It was always a pleasure to dive into the cool water after a long day in the grinding room or the granary, and wash the sweat and dust off.

Stani, the apprentice, didn’t know how to swim yet. Lobosch and Witko, who were rarely seen anywhere without him, had offered to teach him. The three of them had stripped off their clothes and were standing at a place where the water was shallow, and a person could wade several steps in and still have ground under their feet.

Hanzo thought he could improve on this. Krabat was already in the water with Lyschko and Kubo. He watched as the senior journeyman, soaking wet and naked as Stani himself, grabbed the boy and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of flour. Stani kicked his legs, but he was laughing. Hanzo carried him to the side of the pond that the mill race fed into, where the water was so deep that it could still drive the mill in midsummer. Obviously, he thought the boy would swim if he had no ground under his feet. With a mighty heave, he threw Stani into the water. 

Stani went under at first. Hanzo laughed loudly as the boy broke the surface, gasping and sputtering. 

"Now swim, duckling!" shouted the senior journeyman.

Really, it seemed like Stani would get the hang of it. He treaded water and pulled with his arms. From time to time he went under, but he did not call for anybody to get him out or help him. So Krabat was surprised when Lyschko, who was nearby, suddenly cursed and started swimming towards Stani with swift strokes. Kubo followed him instantly.

Lyschko reached Stani just as the boy finally sank. The mill pond was not very deep, but it was enough to drown. Lyschko dived, and managed to grab Stani and pull him up to the surface. Then Kubo was with him and helped him get the half-unconscious apprentice to the shore. 

Kubo rolled Stani on his back and pounded his chest with a fist until the boy began to cough up water. Lyschko went for the nearest pile of clothes, which happened to be Krabat’s, pulled out a shirt, ran back to Stani, and began rubbing him with the garment. Nearby, Hanzo stood as if paralyzed.

In the meantime, the other fellows had congregated. Most were naked, or wearing either shirts or pants. Only Juro, who was the last to join them because he had to prepare dinner, still wore all his clothes. 

Krabat also swam to shore and clambered out of the mill pond. 

Stani was still coughing and choking, but at least he wasn’t vomiting any more water. Lyschko took him in his arms to carry him back to the mill. 

“Give him to me,” suggested Juro. “I'm wearing something, at least. And he’s not really dying anymore.” 

Lyschko looked down at himself. Then he shrugged, and shifted the boy to Juro’s arms. 

While Juro made his way to the mill with Stani, Lyschko pulled on his pants and shoes. He left everything else behind to run after them. Hanzo hesitated, but finally pulled himself together, put his clothes back on and followed them with heavy steps.

The others stayed near the mill pond. 

Witko looked stunned, and Lobosch was close to tears. 

“See here,” said Staschko to them both, “it won’t do Stani any good for you to stay filthy. Let’s have a quick bath and wash the flour dust off. Then we can go back to the mill together and see how he is.”

Since there wasn’t anything they could do for Stani, the journeymen who hadn’t been in the pond yet decided to follow Staschko’s advice and at least swim a bit. Granted, nobody could manage much enthusiasm. Kito growled that this was a really stupid prank on Hanzo’s part, and the Master would string him up for it, and no one contradicted him. In retrospect, Krabat was ashamed that he hadn’t recognized the danger and stopped Hanzo. 

Krabat, Kubo, and also Petar, who had been in the water before them, stayed on the shore and got dressed.

“How did you and Lyschko know that Stani was drowning?” Krabat asked Kubo.

Kubo was just about to step into his pants. He grimaced. “We were around for one near-drowning in the mill pond. That guy was actually a good swimmer, but he got a cramp and simply went under. He didn’t make a sound. One moment he was swimming, and the next, he was gone.”

“Who was that?” asked Krabat.

Kubo’s face darkened. “He’s not at the mill anymore. His name was Jakub. You’re wearing his clothes.”

So Krabat’s predecessor had been named Jakub. In three and a half years, no one had told him, not even Tonda. 

Krabat hesitated. But this was as good an opportunity as any other. After all, Kubo, who was known for his silence, was talking to him. And trying to straighten things out when he could was especially critical now, because most of the journeymen were giving him the cold shoulder. 

“Listen, Kubo,” Krabat began carefully, “I know you’re angry with me for having made a deal with the Master. But I didn’t do it to save my hide. He would have killed my girl, if I hadn’t.” 

Kubo nodded curtly. “I know that. Hanzo told us what you told him at the beginning of the year.”

“And? Do you believe me?”

Kubo regarded him in all seriousness. “I believe you. But why you did it and what will come of it are two very different things. Even so … I admit that I belong to those who don’t want to leave the mill. I wouldn’t even want to imagine a life without sorcery. I have respect for the Master, and if someone else comes along who deserves my respect, he’ll have it.”

Petar was only standing a few steps away from them, and must have heard this. He came over to them.

“I feel the same as Kubo. When you’re master, Krabat,” said Petar, “I’ll obey you just as I obey our current one. I’ve already been at the mill a long time, it’s going on ten years. Nothing is urging me to leave. Without the dark arts, I don’t want to live. And maybe,” he grinned, “life at the mill with you as miller would be alright. At least you have a sense of humor.” 

.

 

When the journeymen entered the room, Krabat holding the clothes under his arm that Lyschko, in his haste, had left by the mill pond, the Master was waiting for them. Hanzo was standing behind him, and his gaze was fixed on the ground.

"Stani is fine," said the Master, without waiting for their questions. "He got away with just the fright to show for it. Juro put him to bed. Lyschko is still with him. "

Juro emerged from the kitchen and began to set the table. Witko and Lobosch helped him, and in no time, dinner was served.

Lyschko joined them just as everyone sat down. He was wearing his good shirt, having left the other at the mill pond. "Stani is asleep," he announced to the room at large, taking his place next to Krabat. "He’s completely exhausted." 

When Krabat gave him his clothes, Lyschko smiled and nodded in thanks. He slipped out of his Sunday shirt and put on his everyday one.

But before they could start their meal, the Master barked, "Hanzo!"

Hanzo rose. His guilty conscience was written all over his face.

"Did you do well today, Hanzo? Was that worthy of a senior journeyman?" The Master asked him sharply.

Hanzo shook his head. "It was foolish, Master."

"Indeed," replied the Master. Then he ordered Hanzo to kneel before him, and gave him two resounding slaps across the face, first right, then left.

"Don’t make another mistake like that, Hanzo – or you won’t be senior journeyman for long."

.

After dinner, Krabat went to consult Juro in the kitchen.

“Is Stani really going to be alright?” he asked, worriedly. In matters of health and sickness, he trusted Juro’s judgment more than Lyschko’s.

Juro nodded, as he gathered the pots together to wash them. “He is. He swallowed a lot of water and got an awful scare, but he’d already calmed down when I brought him to the mill. And when the Master touched him, to do the healing spell, he went straight to sleep. All the same, Lyschko stayed with him until dinner. I think he likes Stani.” 

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me,” Krabat answered. “You can’t help but like Stani.”

He assisted Juro with carrying pots to the sink.

“I agree,” Juro replied, “but Lyschko does not make a habit of liking any of the apprentices. For years, he’s looked askance at every newcomer to the mill. In each one of them, he saw someone who might cost him the Master’s favor.” 

“And now he’s saved an apprentice’s life.”

“True.” Juro took a steaming kettle off the stove and poured boiling water from it into the sink, before adding some cold water from a jug. Then he put ash-lye into it. 

“Lyschko,” continued Juro, as he began to scrub the first pot, “may well have his merits. But, Krabat, I’m going to tell you again, even if you don’t want to hear it: be careful with him. I’ve known him since he came to the mill as an apprentice, and I could tell you stories. I’ve experienced many bad situations that he caused. Neither he nor the Master can be trusted.” 

“You do realize the Master can hear you whenever he wants?” Krabat warned, quietly.

Juro shrugged his shoulders. “The Master knows what I think. Here on the mill, there’s no defense against him. And I have wasted a lot of time trying to keep things secret that were, in any case, never unknown to him. This has been clear to me since last winter.”

Krabat looked searchingly at his friend. “He had words with you on New Year’s Eve, didn’t he? What did he say?”

Juro’s face looked grim. “That I only barely got away, and I owe it to you that the axe didn’t fall on me. And …” Juro hesitated briefly. “And that I’m still at the top of his list,” he added.

Krabat shuddered. He knew, of course, where the Master stood with regard to Juro, but it was something else entirely to hear all of this coming out of Juro’s mouth.

Juro handed the newly washed pot to Krabat, who dried it and put it back in its place.

“I’m not stupid,” Juro added, “even though I pretended to be for a long time. I know that the Master has paired Witko with me so that he can replace me more easily, when the time comes.”

Krabat shuddered again. “You say that so calmly,” he answered, watching Juro with anxious eyes. “Aren’t you afraid?”

“More than you can imagine,” said Juro.

.

Stani didn’t hold it against Hanzo that he’d almost drowned. The next day he was back on his feet, and with the help of the others, he soon learned how to swim.

Hanzo, however, was deeply shaken. He strove with renewed zeal to be a responsible senior journeyman, but the Master never seemed altogether satisfied with him. Even though Hanzo sharply rebuked Andrusch and Staschko, going so far as to backhand them when they antagonized Lyschko, Witko, or Stani, or when they played pranks on the other journeymen, it didn’t seem to help. 

The Master was dissatisfied with Andrusch, and repeatedly told him as much in front of the rest of the mill workers. Staschko seemed to get more slack, but that was mostly because he was skillful enough not to get caught. Nevertheless, no one could overlook that Andrusch was inciting him, and he was going along with it mostly to stay on good terms with his friend. 

The brotherhood at the mill seemed to be getting more and more out of joint. Hanzo no longer had the other journeymen well in hand, particularly not Andrusch and Staschko, but Kito was also causing problems. Krabat and Lyschko were excluded from the life of the community, wherever they went, and Hanzo couldn’t do anything about it.

Witko, Lobosch, and Stani were always together, to whatever extent their different tasks permitted, and at least they worked in earnest, and obeyed the senior journeyman. The same was true of Kubo and Petar. But they also seemed restive, and there was often bickering.

Juro was as reliable as ever. When the general mood was particularly bad, he often took one journeyman or another aside, to the kitchen, the stables, or the garden, and talked to him for a while, and they consistently returned showing a far more cheerful face to the others.


	8. The Secret of the Mill

.

On the evening of the autumn equinox, the Master called Krabat and Lyschko once again to join him in the Black Chamber. Since Lyschko had been included in the pact, this happened once or twice a week.

"Krabat, Lyschko," said the Master, "the time has come for me to initiate you more deeply into the secret of the mill."

Krabat involuntarily sat up straighter. Lyschko also looked eager.

The Master regarded Krabat over the flame of the candle first, and then turned his gaze to Lyschko. "A year has twelve months," he began, in a voice heavy with meaning. "A day has twelve hours, twice over. Five times twelve minutes gives you the hour. Five times twelve seconds gives you each minute." 

Well, this at least, was not new to Krabat.

"Jesus had twelve disciples, and some call him the Son of God," continued the Master, "and the ancient peoples had twelve gods. Twelve days lie between Christmas and Twelfth Night, or High New Year, twelve days again between St. Thomas’s day, which is also the winter solstice, and New Year. On these nights, the wild hunt is abroad, and on the night of New Year’s Eve, in which the old year dies, the Goodman at the height of his power takes one life from the mill, so that the cycle at High New Year can begin with someone new. Twelve marks the circle, where beginning and end are one and the same, like a mill wheel. Twelve is the principle of the mill and the principle of life. " 

'That,' thought Krabat, 'sounds right.'

At once, he was dismayed at himself. Right? Hadn’t they just been discussing the deaths of his fellow men? And what was that about Jesus Christ -

"Pay attention, Krabat!" said the Master, with a look that went right through him. Beside him, Lyschko tried to disguise his laughter with coughing.

The Master continued: "We who live on the mill take the left hand path. We are outside. What is forbidden to others is permitted to us, and in fact, necessary. We uphold traditions that are forgotten and condemned elsewhere. We know about the things behind the visible world and the need for compensation. What we guard here, Krabat, Lyschko "- again he looked piercingly at his students -" is nothing less than the secret of life." – 

Krabat no longer had to admonish himself to pay attention: he was fascinated.

"Life cannot exist without death," said the Master. Each word he spoke impressed itself on Krabat, as if it had been written on his forehead with flaming charcoal. "Without death, there is no order and no renewal. As summer must be followed by winter before it can be summer again, there is youth and age and then youth. What was new becomes old, and what was old becomes new. Death is the gate through which life must pass to be reborn. "

The Master leaned back in his chair.

"Unfortunately, not every journeyman can reach this highest degree of knowledge, not in a way that he truly understands it. Not by ordinary means. For this reason, when I have taught them everything they are able to learn, they must leave the brotherhood and pass through the gate, to grasp the secret. And also, as I told you before, Krabat: I can only summon those who were already marked for death. All who are on the mill today would have had only days to live, if they had not followed my call. Here, they have a long time. " 

"In this room, we can remember. Be assured, Krabat, that the deaths of Tonda, Michal, and Merten were unavoidable. And Lyschko, so were the deaths of Jakub, Wyli, and Měrko, who you got to know equally well. I did not choose them to punish them. Their time in the Brotherhood had run out. They had completed their training. On the other hand, when Merten tried to hang himself, he was not ready yet. He wanted to hasten his departure, and I could not allow that. All who die on the mill die at their appointed time, because it is the only way that they can learn what their purpose is. In the end, they all understand." 

.

In mid-October, they harvested the apples and pears. There were more than forty fruit trees, so they had plenty to do. Some of the journeymen climbed high into the branches on wooden ladders and picked the fruits by hand, or with pouches fastened to long poles, and then passed them on to the others, who filled willow baskets with them. 

Krabat worked together with Lyschko. Petar and Kito were on the other side of their same tall, heavily laden apple tree. All the others were similarly scattered over the meadow, except Juro and Witko, who had things to do in the kitchen.

The Master walked around the trees to prevent the boys from getting up to too much mischief. Throwing rotten apples at each other was very popular, but invariably led to Juro exclaiming and cursing over the extra laundry. Last year, he’d punished them by serving only soup and bread for three days.

Juro ...

While Krabat stood on the ladder and picked apples, he had to think of Juro, working in the kitchen and preparing everything with Witko's help, so that later they could press the juice, make cider and vinegar, and boil compote. In good times and bad, no matter what was going on at the mill, Juro always did what needed to be done and had a sense of the bigger picture. Krabat admired this about him. 

And Witko ...

Witko had really come into his own since the master had freed him from the mill work. Juro and Witko got up earlier and went to bed later than everyone else, perhaps with the exception of the Master, but since Juro took charge of him, Witko seemed much livelier and healthier than before. Juro let him do many things by himself, rather than just assigning him menial tasks, and when Witko had cooked or baked, Juro would say, as he served them: "You owe this soup to Witko," or "Witko has baked you an excellent bread. "

Then timid Witko would turn red and grin from ear to ear, especially when the other journeymen praised his work as well. They had good reasons to. One reason was that Witko had really learned to cook, and his food was delicious. As for the other ... 

Well, Andrusch had once described a stew Witko made as pigswill, because he wanted to tease the boy, and the boiling hot food sprayed out of the bowl and hit his face. It burned Andrusch painfully, and Juro, who didn’t play dumb anymore, said to him, "you can recognize a pig by its foul mouth." After that, no one had dared, without a valid cause, to disparage Witko's food, and much less to insult him. 

In addition, Witko had found real friends in Lobosch and Stani.

Lobosch, for his part, had been working hard with the others at the mill, and now he also knew when it was better to keep his mouth shut. 

The apprentice, Stani, had grown a lot. During his first year, which counted for three, his voice had broken, and he’d become muscular and strong. He loved the mill work and always tried to please the Master, even in the Black School. It would have been easy for the other journeymen to turn against him, but since he was friendly to everyone and always ready to help, he was almost as popular as Lobosch.

From below, Lyschko poked Krabat with a broken branch. "Are you asleep, Krabat? Pass me some apples before I die of boredom! "

Krabat handed down the bag with the apples, which he had tied around his waist with a rope, and Lyschko emptied it into the basket.

From the other side of the tree came a yell and a crash. Then a raven flew and hovered in the air, squawking angrily. Kito had not been paying attention to the ladder, and it had fallen, with Petar on the top rungs. At the last moment, he had saved himself a nasty fall by transforming into a raven. Now he perched near the top of the apple tree and scolded Kito, while the other fellows laughed.

The Master came over to them, and waved Petar, the raven, down from the tree. "Get going! We want to finish today!"

'You’re one to talk,' thought Krabat. 'You're just watching.'

The Master looked at him with raised eyebrows. Then he made a quick hand movement. Krabat was so surprised as he lost his balance that he did not manage to transform in time. He hit the ground painfully, and then became a raven. He sat there, stunned, in the grass. 

The Master picked him up and tapped him reprovingly on the beak. "Remember that I am the Master, Krabat," he said softly. "And you're still a student ... understood?" 

"Understood," croaked Krabat.

The Master put him back on the ground. Krabat turned back into a human and climbed the ladder again, to continue the work.  
.

A few days after the apple harvest, something unfortunate happened to Krabat. While chopping wood in the woodshed, he was momentarily distracted by three of the mill cats, who began to spit and yowl nearby. As a result, he swung his hatchet wrong and the sharp edge embedded itself deeply in his leg, next to the bone.

No one was with him when it happened, but Andrusch, Staschko, and Kito, who had been busy nearby, heard him scream and immediately ran over. In the meantime, the cats had disappeared.

Andrusch whistled lowly between his teeth when he saw the gaping wound, Kito paled, and Staschko said, "we'll have to take him to the house."

Not long before, the Master had taught them to heal wounds. Some of the men already knew how, because the readings from the Koraktor were repeated at irregular intervals. But, of the three, none dared to use the spell on such a serious injury.

Meanwhile, the pain Krabat had not felt at first was becoming so intense that he could barely breathe.

Staschko and Andrusch picked Krabat up, and although they were being careful, in his current state he was resenting it very much. They hastily carried him into the house and set him down on the table in the servant’s quarters. Kito had run ahead and fetched Juro from the garden. If anyone among the journeymen understood healing, it was Juro.

"Should I get the Master?" Kito asked urgently. He was still pale, and avoided looking at the wound or the spot on the ground where blood was starting to pool under Krabat.

Juro, who had knelt down in front of Krabat, shook his head. "I'll take care of this," he murmured, laying his hands on Krabat's leg, with one above and the other below the injury. Then he closed his eyes and began to move his lips. Silently, he pronounced the incantation, and Krabat felt the pain flow out of him. In its place, he felt cool, then warm. When he dared to look down at his leg, the gaping wound had already closed.

"You really are magic, Juro!" Staschko acknowledged approvingly. 

They all looked at each other, and started to laugh at the same time, even Krabat, who still felt very queasy in the pit of his stomach. There was relief in this laughter, and a sense of togetherness that Krabat had long missed with Kito, Andrusch, and Staschko.

Andrusch walked over to Krabat. He hesitated briefly, and then clapped Krabat on the shoulder. "Well, you were lucky again, Krabat – it’s good that we were around." Andrusch gave him a lopsided grin.

"Truly," replied Krabat. His heart was brimming with emotion. "I thank you very much." 

Kito looked seriously at him. "We're brothers here at the mill, Krabat," he said firmly. "Brothers help each other. Don’t forget that you were once our brother, too, if you become the master." 

Krabat held his gaze. "I won’t forget, Kito."

"That's good," Kito replied, and Andrusch and Staschko nodded.

But Juro stood beside them, lost in thought, wearing a thoroughly dejected expression. It was as if he knew that Krabat, for all his goodwill, would not be able to keep his word. 

Then Krabat noticed that Andrusch was looking at Juro with admiration. He looked over at Kito and could read the same thing on his face, and Staschko’s.

Krabat was stunned. Had Juro so impressed them with his successful healing magic? Andrusch used to mock Juro with enthusiasm, and Kito had often threatened to beat Juro for trifling offenses, before. 

Krabat looked again, and realized it went even beyond that. The three were looking at Juro like someone they would trust, and obey. Like someone who'd just proved that he could make plans and follow through with them. 

Krabat was freezing. His heart felt like it was being crushed between two millstones.

.

It is late autumn. A pig is due for slaughter. Normally, this would be one of Juro’s chores, but the Master has assigned it to Krabat, for reasons known only to him.

Krabat is standing next to the pig and does not really know what to do. Naturally, he has seen the process many times and even assisted the one doing it, but he has never slaughtered an animal himself. 

The pig looks at him curiously. Krabat thinks something in its eyes seems familiar.

Krabat hits the pig on the head with the blunt side of his ax to stun it, and it collapses without a sound. As Krabat stabs the knife into its neck, the pig turns into Juro.

Juro lies there, with a knife in his throat, and looks sadly at Krabat.

"So you’ve decided, Krabat," Juro says as his blood rushes over Krabat's hands, soaking into the ground and mixing with the November mud. "And I thought we were friends ..."

.

Krabat startled awake, with his heart hammering.

"Krabat?" Lyschko asked, sleepily. "What …?"

"I just had a bad dream," Krabat replied, though he’d long since realized that dreams at the mill were seldom just dreams.


	9. The Circle Closes

.

It was not the first snow of the year, but it was the first snow that had fallen plentifully enough and with just the right consistency to make decent snowballs. Shortly before noon, Hanzo called for an early end to their work, and it hardly took a minute for a snowball fight to break out. Staschko and Kito were particularly enthusiastic, but Andrusch and Lyschko also needed little excuse.

For once, the distance that had separated the other fellows from Krabat since the beginning of the year seemed to have dissolved. Kubo grabbed him and threw him to the ground, and Petar knelt on him and soaked his face with snow, until Krabat, laughing, begged for mercy.

Hanzo forgot his senior journeyman’s dignity and chased after Lobosch, who had stuffed a piece of ice down his shirt. Witko, who had come out of the kitchen when he saw what was happening in the courtyard, rolled around with Stani in the snow. Only Juro had not wanted to leave his pots, but Andrusch and Staschko decided to bring him a few snowballs, which they were presently endeavoring to put in his shirt and trousers. 

When everyone was finally exhausted and had to stop, if only to catch their breath, the three youngest ones began to build a snowman. They took great pains to make it resemble the Master. Just as they put the finishing touch on their work with a piece of coal, to represent his eye-patch, the front door opened and the Master himself stepped out. His hair, which peeked out from under his tricorn, was almost white, and he was leaning on a cane. Nevertheless, his gait was quick and nimble as he came out to the mill workers.

Witko, Lobosch, and Stani’s faces changed color, from apple red to flour white and back again. They scrambled to conceal themselves behind the other journeymen.

The Master circled the snowman and studied it with an unreadable expression.

The older fellows grinned. Lyschko pushed Stani, who kept trying to hide behind him, forward, and Andrusch held Lobosch by one of his protruding ears so that he could not flee. Only Witko managed to stay behind Petar and Kubo, at least temporarily.

The Master snapped his fingers and looked expectantly at the boys. Hesitantly, the three miscreants came forward. Stani seemed as frightened as if he were expecting to be thrown out of the mill for this insolence. 

The Master gazed at them intently, one after another. They stood stock-still and scarcely dared to meet his eyes.

Then the Master's lips curled into a grin. He took off his tricorn and bowed, hat in hand, to the assembled company of journeymen.

Then he went to the snowman and set the tricorn on its head before returning to the house, whistling as he went.

.

It is the deepest winter, and the blackest, moonless night. In the untouched snow in front of the mill stands the Goodman, without horses or wagon. The red light coming from the flickering feather on his hat makes it look as if he’s standing in a pool of fire. 

"It is a circle, Krabat," says the Goodman, in the voice of the Master.

And, just so, Krabat now sees that the red light forms a perfect circle around the black figure.

"A circle," continues the Goodman, "has no beginning and no end. I am the far side of life, Krabat, its shadow, and at the same time its source. I have been at its side from the beginning. Day, night, summer, winter, waking, sleeping - one thing cannot exist without the other, and the wheel must keep turning. You understand that, don’t you?" –

"Yes," replied Krabat, "I understand."

.

It was only a week before New Year’s Eve, when the Master called Krabat and Lyschko to the Black Chamber. He looked old and weakened. His figure was bowed, his face pale and hollow. 

"We’ll have to make our choice soon," said the Master, in a hoarse voice.

Krabat could feel his heart contract. Neither he nor Lyschko replied. 

"I know, Lyschko," the Master continued, "that you have every reason to hold a grudge against Andrusch, and that you would choose him, if it were only a matter of whom we like, or who is a nuisance to us. But this decision must take into account the well-being of the entire mill. If there is continual strife, or someone is always pulling strings, or the brotherhood is in danger of getting completely out of joint and there is no unity anymore, we must see where that originates and who is the source." 

The Master looked at Krabat.

"Juro," Krabat said softly. He had the bitter taste of bile in his mouth. 

"Juro," the Master confirmed. "I have told you more than once: Juro will not rest until he has struck down the master of the mill, no matter who that is. He has tried to rally the other fellows to him all year, and at least with Andrusch, Staschko and Kito, he is succeeding. Next year, maybe more will follow him. We really have to do something now if we do not want the stones to break and the mill to stand still. There is no other way: this year it must be Juro."

Krabat and Lyschko exchanged a look. Lyschko did not look happy, but finally he nodded. "You're right, Master: it has to be Juro."

"Krabat?" The Master asked. 

Krabat closed his eyes. His heart lay heavy as a stone in his chest.

"Juro," he said.

.

 

Unlike last year, with Merten, it was the Master who spoke first to Juro, and he did it on the morning of New Year’s Eve.

Since, with the exception of Krabat, Lyschko, and the apprentice, this time, as far as the journeyman knew, the sacrifice could be anyone, the mood on the mill became increasingly strained and easily provoked as they approached the end of the year. There was a lot of conflict and not a few punches.

But none of the journeymen, except perhaps Juro himself, had seriously expected the choice to fall on him. He’d been so cautious in the preceding year. Hanzo might have seemed like the more probable one, because the Master had shown he was dissatisfied with his work as senior journeyman. Perhaps also Andrusch, or Staschko, since they had often ganged up on and harassed Lyschko, who was back in the Master’s favor. And, despite being warned, they had also done a lot of mischief. Even Witko, who wasn’t well suited for mill work, and could barely keep up on new moon nights, might have seemed a more likely sacrifice. 

Krabat saw Juro go out to the shed. His face was an ashen gray.

When Juro returned from the barren plain, Krabat was waiting for him in the yard. Krabat had an indescribably hideous feeling, but he thought he owed it to Juro to at least try and speak to him. 

Juro looked at him, tired but calm.

"I … I'm sorry, Juro," Krabat managed, with effort.

"I know, Krabat," Juro replied softly. "I know."

"If we could ... if there was another way ..."

Juro shook his head. "You chose wisely, Krabat. I would never have stopped before the master was defeated – if not this one, then the next. And that would have been you." 

"Juro ..."

"For my part, I've always been your friend, Krabat. Even if someday I had to kill you, I would have done it as your friend. "

For a while they stood facing each other. Then Juro extended his right hand to Krabat. After a moment's hesitation, Krabat reached out and shook it.

"I was always your friend too, Juro," he said softly.

Juro nodded.

Then Krabat let go of his hand, and Juro turned away and went to the shed to return the pick and shovel.

.

 

At dinner, which they ate in complete silence, Juro resumed his usual duties. The Master did not appear. 

When they’d finished eating, Witko helped pick up the dishes. Little Stani, who could not help but notice that something was wrong and it concerned Juro, stayed close to them in the kitchen under the pretext of helping them wash up. Stani loved Juro, because from the very beginning he had been kind to him, just as he was to all the apprentices.

Krabat suddenly realized that every one of the journeymen, as apprentices, had been cared for and protected by Juro. Perhaps that was why, unlike in other years, nobody would leave the room that evening. A few of the guys offered to help Juro in the kitchen. Abruptly, Hanzo jumped up and bolted for the yard, because he didn’t want Juro to see him cry. 

Krabat felt horrible, and when he looked at Lyschko, he did not seem to be faring any better.

Lyschko finally slipped into the kitchen, looking almost ashamed. It was quite a while before he came out again, but when he did, he seemed a bit relieved.

The journeymen sat around the table mutely, apart from those who’d gone to Juro, and Hanzo, who was still outside. Sometimes Krabat got a hostile look, but most of them did not seem to care about him and Lyschko.

It got late, and later. Hanzo returned to the house, his teeth chattering from the cold. Kubo, Lobosch, Witko and Stani came out of the kitchen. Apparently, Juro wanted to be alone for a while - perhaps to say goodbye to the place that had been his home for thirteen years.

At last, Juro left the kitchen and walked into the servant’s quarters. He looked at the gathered journeymen, and Krabat could see that he was both surprised and touched. Then he came to the table and shook each of their hands, including Krabat and Lyschko. 

Then Juro said, "Please, go to bed and try to sleep. I won’t be joining you."

The men looked at him. Little by little, everyone rose to do as he bid them. Stani, who still didn’t know what was going on, had tears in his eyes, and he was not the only one.

Krabat was the last to leave the room. At the door, he turned to look back.

Juro was standing at the empty table and setting the benches together, as he did every evening. For a moment, Krabat stopped and watched him. He felt like his heart was being torn in two. 

Then he slunk out as well. 

.

They found Juro on New Year's morning in the stable. He was lying face down in the walkway, as if something had run him over. He had no visible injuries. 

Hanzo and Petar carried him into the kitchen and laid his body out on a board. Kubo put a bundle of straw under his neck. Kubo also cared for Juro, washed him, and clothed him in a shroud. 

In the afternoon, the journeymen took Juro out to the barren plain. They lowered his coffin into the open grave and shoveled dirt over it with grim haste.

This time, Krabat and Lyschko stayed behind, thinking of the dead from years past, and those of years yet to come.

.

**The End.**


End file.
